Komla Afeke Dumor (3 October 1972 – 18 January 2014) was aGhanaian journalist who worked forBBC World News and was the main presenter of its programmeFocus on Africa.[1][2]
In December 2013, he was named as one of the 100 most influential Africans of 2013 byNew African magazine, with the citation: "It has been a coming of age for Kumla Dumor this year. The presenter ofFocus on Africa, the BBC's flagship and first-ever dedicated daily TV news programme in English for African audiences, broadcast on BBC World News, has established himself as one of the emerging African faces of global broadcasting. As a lead presenter for BBC World, Dumor has considerable influence on how the continent is covered."[9][10]
At the time of his death, Dumor was the onlyWest Africannewsreader on BBC World News. In the words ofBBC Radio 4Today andBBC News presenterMishal Husain, "Komla developed his own unique on air style, seamlessly moved between TV and radio and influenced Africa coverage across the BBC."[11] He was also described byPeter Horrocks, the BBC's global news director, as "a leading light of African journalism – committed to telling the story ofAfrica as it really is."[11]
In 2001, Dumor married Kwansema, née Quansah, with whom he had three children: Elinam, Elorm and Emefa.[2][8] He wasEwe Ghanaian and his widow, Kwansema, isFante Ghanaian.
Dumor died from a heart attack on 18 January 2014 at his home inRickmansworth, having been on air the day before.[2][13]President of GhanaJohn Mahama said in a message on Twitter that Dumor was one of Ghana's "finest ambassadors" and "was a broadcaster of exceptional quality and Ghana's gift to the World."[14]
On 3 February 2014, Komla Dumor's body was flown back to Ghana, where it was received atKotoka International Airport by a group of family members, friends, government officials, sympathizers and members of theAflao traditional council, who also performed some traditional rites, sinceAflao was his hometown.[15] Funeral ceremonies for Dumor were held from 21 to 23 February 2014 inAccra.[16]
At the 2014African Achievers Awards Dumor was honoured with a posthumous award for Excellence in Broadcasting.[18]
Honouring Dumor's legacy, in 2015, the BBC launched the BBC World NewsKomla Dumor Award, presented each year "to an outstanding individual living and working in Africa, who combines strong journalism skills, on air flair, and an exceptional talent in telling African stories with the ambition and potential to become a star of the future." The award was presented to Ugandan journalistNancy Kacungira in 2015, Nigerian journalistDidi Akinyelure in 2016, Nigerian journalist Amina Yuguda in 2017, Kenyan journalist Wahiga Mwaura in 2018, Ugandan journalist Solomon Serwanjja in 2019, and in 2020 Kenya's Citizen TV news anchor Victoria Rubadiri.[19][20] The winner is given a three-month training and development contract in BBC News.[21][22][23]
In February 2020, two books were launched by the Komla Dumor Memorial Foundation to honour him:The Dreamer, Komla Dumor the Boss Player in His own words andKomla Dumor in His Element, authored by his brother, Dr Korshie Dumor, and his father, Professor Ernest Dumor.[24]
